Timing mechanism



Jan. 2, 1951 w. c. KLAMMER ETAL 2,536,133

TIMING MECHANISM Filed June 14, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 2, 1951 w. c.KLAMMEIR ElAL 2,536,133

TIMING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1948 v P y Wm M/ W M zX.

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an- 2, 1 w. c. KLAMMER EIAL 2,536,133

TIMING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 14, 1948 Patented Jan. 2,1951 TIMING MECHANISM- 1 William C; Klammer, Raymond A. Schneider,Lester A; Schneider, and Paul W. Mattson, Mankato, Minn assignors toAutomatic Electric Manufacturing Company, Mankato, Minn, a corporationofMinnesota Application Ju'ne114, 1948, Serial No. 32,756

2 Claims;

present invention relates generally to timing mechanisms and, morespecifically, to'a mechanically-operated mechanism for closing andopening electrical circuits atpredetermined time intervals.

The primary object of our inventionis the provision of a timingmechanism which can be quickly and easily set to close and openelectrical circuits at specified intervals during a given time cycle.

Another object of our invention is the provision of means whereby thetime interval settings of our improved timing mechanism' 'may bemanually changed at will.

Another object of our-invention is the provision-of a plurality of tripfingers movable into i and out-of engagementwith switch means forclosing an electrical circuit and means for maintainingsaid trip fingersin set positions.

Still another object of our invention-isthe provision of a timingmechanism as set forth 1 di'cate like parts throughout the severalviews;

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved timing device, some partsbeing broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation as seen from the right to the left'withrespect to Fig. 1, some parts being broken away and-some parts beingshown in sections;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the mechanism-of Fig; 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation asseen'from'--the"left to the right withrespect to Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is'a plan of our improved timing mechanism, some parts beingbroken away;

Fig. 6 is a view partly inelevation and partly in section, taken on theline 66 of Fig. 4;

Fig; 7 Ba view partly in elevation and partly in section, takenon-the-line l-'lof Fig. 4;

Fig.- 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in section, takensubstantially on the-line 8-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 isa view partly in side elevation and partlyin section-takensubstantially on theiline 9--9 of Fig. 1;

Fig 10 is a fragmentary view partly .in eleva tion: and partly t-insection, taken on" the line 10 -10 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary detail taken substantially on theline I l-i l of Fig. 3;

Fig. 12- is a fragmentary section, taken on the line i2i2 of Fig. 10;and

Fig. 13- is anelectrical-wiring diagram of our invention.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral lindicates, in its entirety, a frame comprising front and rear mountingplates 2 and 3 respectively, and an intermediateplate 4. Plates 2 and 4are maintained in spaced parallel relation by spacers 5 secured at oneof their ends to the plate 2 and having studs 6 on their other endsextending through the plate t and equipped with nuts or burrs I.A-plurality of posts 3 are mounted fast at one of their ends to theplate 4 and are internallythreaded at their other ends to receivethreaded screws or the like 8 which pass through apertures in the rearmounting plate 5 (see particularly Fig. '2). It will be" observed, byreference to Figs. 1 and 2, thatthe spacers 5 are internally threadedfor thereception of mounting screws or the likefor securing the timingdevice to a panel, housing, or the like, not shown.

The plates '3 and 4 are provided with axially! aligned bearing bosses l0and II respectively in which is jour'nalled a shaitl2. The'shaft l2projects forwardly through an enlarged opening l3 in the-front plate 2and at its forward end is pro-- vided with a turning knob I4 rigidlysecured thereto by means of a set screw or the like it.Integrally-formed with the-shaft i2 between the plates 2 and dis atoothed pinion l6, which has meshing engagement with a gear 11. The gearIT is coaxial with and rigidly secured to a pinion 18- which isjournalled on a stubshaft i9. The'stub shaft l9 has a reduced threadedend 20 which passes through the intermediate plate 4 and is securedthereto by means of a washer-equipped nut 2i. The gear I? is maintainedin spaced relation from the plate t by means of spacing sleeves-22.Arelativelylarge gear 23 is rigidly secured'to a hub 24 journalled onthe-shaft i2 andhas meshing engagement with the pinion 8; The hub 2 l'has an axially-projecting threaded portion 25 on which is mounted atiming dial 25 which comprises'a flat plate-like back 21 and anaxially-extended circumferential flange 28; The dial 26 is clamped overthe axially-projecting threaded portion 25 of the'hub 24 bymeans ofacIamping .nuttfi'which is provided with air-- cumferentially-spacedopenings 3l for the recep tionof a pin wrench or the like not shown.

The fiangeili is formed to provide a circumferentially-extended;axially-opening channel- 3| in the bottom of which is contained a coilspring 32. A plurality of circumferentiallyspaced holes 33 extendradially through the flange 28. The holes 33 he in a plane transverselyof the shaft 52 and intersect a portion of the channel 3| a distancefrom the bottom thereof whereby a portion of the spring 32 projects intothe intersection there-between. Slidably mounted in each of the holes 33is a trip finger 34 which is provided with longitudinallyspaced.detent-forrning notches 35 intenmediate its ends. The trip fingers 3dare of such a length and the notches 35 are so spaced that when theradially outer end of each finger 34 is even with the outer periphery ofthe flange 28, the coil spring 32 is seated in one of the notches 35.The trip fingers 35 may be manually moved to a radially outer extremeposition with the inner end of each trip finger 34 even with the innerperiphery of the flange 28. In this position, the spring 32 is seated inthe other notch 35 of each trip finger 34; and the outer end of the tripfinger 32 projects radially outwardly of each flange 25. During shiftingmovements of the trip fingers 34, the convolutions of the spring 32spread apart to allow the fingers S 1 to slide therebetween. However,sufiicient lateral bias is applied to the trip fingers 34 during radialmovement thereof'in the holes 33 by the convolutions of the spring 32 toprovide a relatively light frictional resistance against such radialmovements. The open end of the channel 3| is closed by an annular plate35 which may be rigidly secured to the flange 23 by any suitable meansand which is provided with indicia designating time intervals determinedby the circumferential spacing of the trip fingers 3 3.

. Adjacent its upper edge, a portion of the intermediate plate 4 is bentto form a bracket 31 on which is mounted a switch 33 contained with in ahousing 39. The switch 38 is operated by a push button it and anactuator lever ii hinged to the housing 33, as indicated at 42. At itsfree end, the actuator lever 4| is provided with a cam portion 43 whichextends laterally therefrom into'the path of travel of the trip fingers3 2 when said trip fingers are in their radially outwardly-projectedpositions (see particularly Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 13). It will beobserved, by reference to the above figures, that the cam portion 43 islocated above the periphery of the flange 28, whereby it is out of thepath of travel of the trip fingers 3 when said trip fingers are in theirradially retracted positions. Yielding bias is imparted to the camportion 43 in a direction away from the switch 38 and toward the tripfingers 34 by a coil compression spring 38 working between the switchhousing 39 and the actuator lever GI.

; Rotation, in a clockwise direction with respect to Fig. l, is impartedto the turning knob it and the timing dial 26 by an electric motor 44 tothe shaft of which is secured a driving pinion 45. The pinion 45 hasmeshing engagement with a speed reduction gear 45 to which is rigidlysecured a pinion 41. The gear 35 and pinion i! are journalled on a stubshaft 43 which is secured to the frame plate 3. The pinion 4T mesheswith a relatively large gear 59 that is journalled for rotation on aflanged bushing rigidly secured to the shaft I2 by a pin or the like 5!intermediate the bearing bosses it and H of the frame i. A circularplate-like cam element 52 and an annular spacer 53 are mounted fast onthe flanged bushing 50,. and. apair. offriction elements 54 and 55 areinterposed between opposite sides of the gear 49 and the spacer 53 andthe flange of the bushing 50 respectively. The friction elements 54 and55 are in the nature of spring washers of the type commonly used inclock mechanisms and provide friction driving means between the gear 49and the flanged bushing 50. Obviously the purpose of the friction driveis to allow manual setting of the timing dial 2% and cam element 52independently of the rotation of the motor 44.

The particular construction of the cam portion 43 permits engagementtherewith by the trip fingers 34 to actuate the switch 33 under rotarymovements of the turning dial 26 in one direction only. To preventmanual setting rotation of the turning knob M in the opposite direction,we provide a ratchet 56 mounted on the rear end of the shaft I2 and heldsecurely in place by means of a nut 51. A pawl 58 is mounted for pivotalmovements on a threaded bolt 53 which is screw-threaded into the rearframe plate 3 as indicated at 60. The pawl 58 is maintained in spacedrelation from the plate 3 and in the plane of the ratchet 56 by means ofa spacer SI; and the pawl 58 is biased toward engagement with theratchet 55 by a torsion spring 52. The ratchet teeth are inclined in adirection to permit rotary movements of the turning knob It and timingdial 26 in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to Fig. 1, butprevent counterclockwise movements of either the turning knob 14 or thedial 26.

The length of the desired complete time cycle and the particular use towhich our timing mechanism is to be applied are factors which determinethe speed of rotation of the timing dial 26 and the cam element 52. Inthe structure shown, the shaft 12 and cam element 52 carried thereby arearranged to rotate at the speed of one revolution per hour. The speedreduction connections comprising the pinions l6 and I8 and the gears I!and 23 cause the timing dial 26 to be rotated at a speed of onerevolution every twenty-four hours. With this arrangement, the timingdevice is particularly adapted for use with radio receiving sets and thelike inasmuch as most of the broadcast programs have durations ofmultiples of quarter hours. The quarter-hour increments are determinedby circumferentially-spaced notches 53 in the cam element 52 which areadapted to successively receive, upon rotation of the cam 52, the camfollower 64 of switch 55. As seen, by reference to Figs. 7 and 13, thenotches 63 are four in number, so that the follower 64 will be receivedinto the notches 63 at quarter-hour intervals, assuming that the rate ofrotation of the cam element 52 is one revolution per hour.

The switch 65 comprises a plurality of laterally-spaced leaf springs 65,61, 68, and 63, maintained in spaced parallel relationship by blocks 10which are made from any suitable insulating material. A pair of machinescrews H rigidly secure the leaf springs and insulating blocks to abracket 12 which is secured fast to the intermediate plate 4 by screwsor the like 13. It will be seen, by reference to Figs. 2, 4, '7, 9, and13, that the leaf springs 66 to 69 inclusive and the cam follower 64 liein the plane of the cam element 52 and that the leaves 5'! and 69 aretied together at their free ends by an insulating member 14. The leaves66 and 61 are each provided with opposed contact buttons which arespaced apart when the cam follower :64.rides on the outer.periphery.ofrthe; cam; elementzt Z? butrwhich come; into; contact: when the camfollower. 64.? is received within: any oneofthe notchesv 63; The leavesB8 and-69- are also; provided with, opposed contact buttons which:engage one another when the. cam follower-64 rides on the:peripheryofathe camrelementr 525 but whichare in spaced apart relationship-when.the. follower 84 is received withirrany one of: the notches;53. The leafspring 68: is'yieldab'ly. biased; in. the. direction of the. cam element52/50 that: the 'camfollower 64. will-be received into the fulldepth ofany one of the notcheszfi3. iwhen said notches move; into, align-.mentnwith: the follower..54. The. rea1vp1ateis3. isformed;.atipionez-sideto provide: a rearwardly--' projectingzzbracket.15: to. which is r-igidly:.-secured a :relay. 16;..Th'e armature ll. of;thexrelay l6; adaptedatozcloseia pairiof normallyloperr switches,

18: and: J 9, thepurpose. ofrzwhich will hereinafter become apparent-.-,The switches 18 and 79: are made up. of leaf springs held apart'inspacedree. lationshiprbyjmeans' of insulating blocks 83 and aremounteds'on'the frame of the relay 15; A terminal-block 8.1 is securedvfast topthe rear plate 3 by meansofscrews. 82 and is provided withapairzof terminalstli'to one each of which isconnectedizone ofca :pairiofleadsr84rwhich are. connected at? their .otherends to the relay-operatedswitch '18.. Themotor l4'isprovided witha pair. ofz.leads;85; whichareconnectedone eachto one of a pair of terminals 86 and Won the terminalblock. 8|;

Referringtot-Fig. 13, it will be seen that a lead 88 extendsafromtheterminal 86 to one side of the switch-.38, Thelother side of the switch38 is connected to the leaf spring 81 by a lead 89. A short lead90connects the lead 88 to the leaf spring 68 of the switch 65. The leafspring 66-is connected to one end of the coil of the relay [6 by a lead9| while a lead 92 connects the other end of the coil of the-relay 76 tothe terminal 81. Oneside, of the relay-operated switch l9 is con nectedto:,the.leaf. springfiflybyra lead 93 and the other side of the relayswitch 19 is connected to the leaf spring 66 by a lead 94 connected atone end to the lead 9|. A pair of leads 95 are shown as extending fromthe terminals 86 and 81 and may be assumed to be connected to a sourceof electrical power not shown. A pair of leads 96 are also shown in Fig.13 as extending from the terminals 83 and may be assumed to be connectedin a radio receiver circuit also not shown, whereby closing of theswitch 18 by the relay it will cause the radio receiver circuit to beclosed. It will be noted that when the cam portion 43 is not engaged byan outwardly-projected trip finger 34 the switch 38 is open, when thefollower 64 rides on the periphery of the cam element 52 connectionsbetween the leaf springs 86 and 61 are closed and connections betweenthe leaf springs 68 and 69 are open, and that when the relay 16 isinoperative the switches 18 and 19 are open.

When it is desired to operate our improved timing device, the timingdial 26 is turned by manual rotation of the turning knob I4 in acounter-clockwise direction until the timing dial 26 is moved to thecorrect chronological setting. This setting is determined by a pointernot shown but located adjacent the cam portion 43 so that, by referenceto Fig. 1, the timing dial is set at twelve oclock noon, assuming, ofcourse, that the setting is made at noon. Rotation of the timing dial 26will bring successive radially outwardly-projecting tripping fingers 34into engagement with the cam portion 43 of the actuator; lever \4 tandldepressethe' same, whereby tocloses-the switch-.38..v .Whiletheswitch-aSBis-in a closed position, the cam" element.Ell-rotates-until one of the notches- 63- thereof 7 reachesiapointedjacent the cam. follower. 64, The. camrfollower 64 isunderyielding; bias of the leafspringfid to enternotch. 63; wherebyto close-acircuit com: prising lead; 88, switch 38, lead 89, -.leaf.-- springsrand-Bl; lead 9| the'coilof' therelay 'lfi and lead. 92, whereby to;cause-.energization oftherelay..;.'Hi. The. relay J6 thus, energizedcloses-the switch, 1.8 and-.causes-a circuit toitheradio re ceiver,@not. shown, through. thedeads 34k and-98; to: be;- completed, thus.turning oni-saidlreceiver. Relay switch 19 is also closed by.energizationof therela-y1l6z Continued: rotation of- .the cam. element;52-causesthe follower -64toleave. the'notch 63 and? ride'upon theperipheralaedgel of the ca-melement. .52. When this occurs, the circuitclosed by. leaf springs 66 and til-is broken but a new zcir.cuit'ris-closed, said circuit comprising the-lead -88; ashortlead 9!],leaf springs68 and '69, lead :93; switch 79, lead 94, part of the lead9|. leading therefrom to the coil of the relay- 155, .and lead 92.- Theswitch formed by the leaf springs 68 and 69' closes prior to theopening, of the switch formed by the leaf springs 66 and 67- so-thatthere; is; no de-energization of' the relay. 76.- at this point; switchformed bythe leaf springs Stand-B9, the switch 38 may be opened withoutaffecting-the,

circuit through the relay T6. In fact, theaswitch 38 opens during thepassage of one of. the radially outwardly-projected trip fingers 34-beyond the cam element 43- and its engagement by-a subsequent radiallyoutwardly-projected trip finger;- However, the mechanism is so arrangedthat con nection-is always made between leaf springs 68 and. 69 beforethe switch 38is opened.

It will be noted that, in the event of radially outward projection ofbuta single trippingfinger 34, the switch 38- will open afterpassage ofthe outwardly-projected trip fingers .34 and remain open. Continuedrotation of the cam element 52 brings a subsequent notch 63 intoposition to receive the cam follower 64 whereby to sever the connectionbetween the leaf springs 68 and 69 and de-energize the relay 16, thusallowing the switches 18 and 19 to open and causing the radio receiverto be shut off. At this point, it will be observed that closing of theconnections between leaf springs 66 and 6'! have no affect on the relay16 for the reason that the switch 38, being con nected in series withthe leaf springs 66 and 61, is open. It will be further noted that theswitch 38 is merely a temporary circuit closer and that the actualtiming for each quarter-hour interval is determined by the switch 65 andthe operation thereof by the cam element 52. In other words, engagementof the cam portion 43 by a radially outwardly-projected tripping finger34 and its closing of the switch 38 permits the relay [6 to be energizedwhen the cam element 52 rotates to a point where the cam follower 64 isreceived within one of the notches 63. The relay is then energized untilthe cam follower 64 is received into a subsequent notch 63. The timeinterval, therefore, is determined by the speed of rotation of the camelement 52 and the spacing of the notches 63 therein.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that, if but one tripping finger 34is projected radially outwardly of the flange 28, the relay (6 will beenergized for a quarter-hour period. It will be seen, by reference toFig. 1, that there is a trip- Subsequent to the closing. of the pingfinger 34 for each quarter-hour period in a twenty-four hour cycle, sothat, if a group of consecutive tripping fingers 34 are radiallyoutwardly projected, the relay 16 will be energized for the duration oftime necessary for the entire group of outwardly-projected trippingfingers to engage and Operate the cam portion 43 of the actuator lever4|. Thus, a device such as a radio receiver may be put into and out ofoperation for a quarter-hour period or any multiple thereof at differenttimes during a twenty-four hour cycle. To set the tripping fingers 34for any particular time of operation, it is but necessary to manuallymove the required number of proper fingers to radially outwardlyprojected positions.

Our invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be entirelyadequate for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth; and, whilewe have shown a single embodiment of our improved timing device, it willbe understood that the same is capable of modification without departurefrom the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a devic of the class described, a frame, a

a shaft journaled for rotation with said frame, a manual turning knobrigidly secured to the outer end of said shaft, a rotary timing dialmounted for rotation on said shaft adjacent said turning knob, reductiongearing connecting said shaft to said dial, a motor coupled to saidshaft, said dial including an annular forwardly projected peripheralflange and a recessed central portion, a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced radially extending trip fingers slidably mounted having a camportion adapted to be engaged by said trip fingers when said fingers areprojected radially outwardly of said flange, whereby to close saidswitch when camming engagement is made between said cam portion and oneof said fingers, a cam element on said shaft, a switch actuator arm onsaid other of said switches engageable with the cam element on saidshaft to operate said other switch to close said circuit subsequent tothe closing of said first-mentioned switch and open said circuit after apredetermined time interval from the closing thereof.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, in further combination with meanstending to retain said tripfingers in either of their extreme setpositions, said means comprising a circumferentially extended forwardlyopening channel in said fiange, said trip fingers extending through theintermediate portion of said channels forwardly of the bottom portionthereof, longitudinally spaced annular detents on said trip fingersalignable with said channel when said trip fingers are moved to one orthe other of their projected positions, and a coiled spring interposedbetween the bottom portions of said channels and said trip fingers, saidspring exerting yielding bias against said trip fingers in all positionsand being of a diameter to be seated in the said detents when saiddetents are aligned with said channel, whereby to lock said trip fingersagainst accidental displacement. I

WILLIAM C. KLAMMER. RAYMOND A. SCHNEIDER. LESTER A. SCHNEIDER.

PAUL W. MA'I'ISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,130,164 Verkins Sept. 13, 1938

